Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Lynn Darby.
Heather, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always had an interest in science and nutrition. Even as young as ten years old I was into science. Foreshadowing my current career, I won 5th place in the state science fair for conducting a nutrition experiment on my gerbils, examining the difference between processed and whole foods. Then flash forward… After a layoff in my 30’s, my health suffered from stress and burnout, and I had to take a year off to pull myself back together. By studying and implementing simple nutrition habits and incorporating consistent movement I was able to make some progress, but when I discovered that I could address the underlying causes of chronic stress, without medication, then it all came together for me.
After my layoff, I decided I was just going to go into business for myself instead of going back into corporate. But having that experience of being in a corporate office lets me speak to the exact problems that Office and Computer professionals have. My background inspires me to want to help this population, people that work at a desk, so they can mitigate their stress and don’t have to undergo their health collapsing because of it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I have a generational history of obesity and heart disease in my family, so it was important to me to not just let the chips fall where they may as far as my health. During my stress crisis, I lost a significant amount of weight, much too quickly, and I experienced significant body dysmorphia. People were complimenting me, but because I felt so bad I was between a rock and a hard place with body image, which was another source of cognitive stress.
So I know what it’s like to go through yo-yo weight loss and regain, and I know what it’s like to be in a healthy mental state with a stable weight. Knowing, and having lived through, the bad effects on someone’s health that stress can have, that speaks to my heart. To be able to help people avoid those “lifestyle diseases,” which are truly reversible, is what motivates me to support people using cutting edge methods of stress reduction in behavior change related to nutrition and fitness.
Please tell us about your business.
I coach Nutrition and Fitness at the intersection of Chronic Stress. So I help Office Professionals who work on computers to disrupt the cycle of chronic stress and recover from sitting. When I started, and I was just studying and experimenting on myself, and became the go-to person in my community for questions about nutrition.
In 2012, I started coaching a few people informally and in 2014 I realized this was my calling, so I became certified with the top professional organizations in the industry, including: Precision Nutrition: L1 Sports and Exercise Nutrition, L2 Coaching and Behavior Change Psychology. National Academy of Sports Medicine: Certified Personal Trainer, now enrolled in Corrective Exercise Specialization. I’m also certified as a Posture Archetype Specialist by the American Posture Institute, Chair Yoga instructor through the Yoga Alliance, and in Heart Rate Variability, which is a measure of stress and resilience.
I speak to this very specific community, who is working at their desk all day, they find that their weight is creeping, their doctor has told them they need to get ahold of their stress, lower their blood pressure, lower their cholesterol, lower their body mass index (i.e. lose weight), and they’re not sure HOW, and how to fit it into their already busy life.
My philosophy is to help people build their resilience through food, mood, and movement. By activating their Rest & Digest response, they can change the trajectory of their health and avoid western lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease.
Some of the work I do activate that “Rest and Digest” have to do with the vagus nerve, which connects your brain to your digestive system and communicates with the gut microbiome. Though there are several methods improve the function of your vagus nerve, the easiest to access it is through the breath. Slow breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which inhibits that chronic stress response and rebalances healthy activation with growth and repair functions.
Though there is a lot of emphasis in our culture on weight and aesthetics, I focus on lifestyle and longevity. Instead of having to continue in an exhausting, demoralizing, and ineffective cycle of All-or-Nothing effort, I help people establish a set of skills and habits, that once implemented will make what they *intend* to do the easiest thing for them *to* do.
Most busy, stressed out people who want to see changes in their health, find it difficult to make time for self-care and healthier habits. I have a lot of empathy because I’ve been where they are… Stuck at a computer desk all day, with endless demands on attention and energy, grabbing food on the go, and at the end of the day ready only to crash on the sofa for a show or two with an adult beverage.
I’m a good listener and help people explore and resolve their ambivalence, and find the internal motivation they need to make changes in their behavior and environment. Taking a Deep Health approach, I look at the whole person, taking into consideration the backdrop of their whole life, including six primary dimensions: physical, mental, emotional, existential, relational-social, and environmental.
By being process-oriented, I help clients determine what’s working and not working for them, in the context of their real life. With this methodology, they can make outcome-based decisions to create the perfect combination of habits that will become The New Normal, for the long term changes they’re looking for.
This is way, *way* more effective than “trying everything” at once, or jumping from protocol to protocol, and not knowing which, if any, are making a difference, or if the results will be sustainable.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over with my business, I would have started with the video earlier. Now that I’m publishing on YouTube and going live in my free Facebook group, I’m able to reach out to bring my message in a broader audience, increasing the opportunity for people to connect with the information and help that resonates with their situation.
Pricing:
- 4 month Rest & Digest Intensive – $1525
- 12 month Rest & Digest Immersion – $3525
- Initial Consultation – $0
- Facebook Community -$0
Contact Info:
- Website: http://heatherlynndarby.com
- Email: heather@heatherlynndarby.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darbyhlx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xlntNutritionAndFitness/
- Other: https://xlnt.link/group
Image Credit:
Patrick I. Taylor – Taylor Photographic
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
